Episode 285 – New Markets for Artists / Get an Answer

You always deserve an answer to your letter, even if they do not have the time or inclination to meet, so I would pursue them until you get one. Sometimes artists tell me that they don’t want to offend people by calling so much, and that they are afraid of burning a bridge. That should not be a concern. Even if you did lose a new contact, one person who doesn’t want to speak to you will not ruin your career. It is unnecessary to fear angering someone by pursuing them politely. If your intentions are honest and good-willed, and you are being professional and sincere about wanting to work with them, why would they be offended? Your tenacity should encourage them. When you keep writing to people, you are showing passion and drive, and people admire those qualities and respect the people who possess them, so please, do not worry about bothering people. As long as you follow what I have said here, you will succeed in most cases and save yourself the heartache of feeling ignored and rejected.

Talking to a Major Curator

Here is a story of how I got into a major New York museum that also has a museum in Europe. I had met the curator once, and I had a meeting with her at her office by contacting her as I have outlined in the previous pages. She told me she didn’t work with contemporary art like mine, but she enjoyed looking at it, and she visited my studio shortly afterwards. I didn’t ask her for anything at the time, but two years ago, I decided to call her because my wife and I had an idea for a show in their Europe museum.

The Phone Call

I called her cell phone and she picked up right away. I told her who I was and she remembered me. I explained our idea for their Europe museum, and I wanted to know who I could contact about it and how I could reach them. She told me that our proposal sounded interesting gave me the contact information I would need. But she also told me to hold off on contacting them because she would call them first to explain who I was. Four days later I still hadn’t heard back from her, so I wrote to remind her that I wanted to contact the other museum, but was waiting for her to send confirmation that she had spoken to them. Then, I proceeded to follow up with the process I outlined earlier.